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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23259790">Press Start</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cheol_Apple/pseuds/Cheol_Apple'>Cheol_Apple</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, CLAUSION, Claude is sweet, Fluff, Guinevere is like Gusion's conscience lmao, Gusion is in denial, Hiking, M/M, No Beta This Time, Songfic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 06:08:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,544</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23259790</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cheol_Apple/pseuds/Cheol_Apple</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Gusion had no idea what came over him that made him agree to go hiking with Claude. He just hopes he doesn't regret it, and that wherever they're going, the signal's strong enough so he can still play on his phone.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Claude/Gusion (Mobile Legends: Bang Bang)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Press Start</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I've been listening to "Press Start" by Olltii and Kim Sohye too much, which is why this fic exists. If I had only known earlier that my penguin bby did a collab hngggggggg~</p><p>I wrote and edited this in the course of four hours, so if there's any grammar or spelling mistakes i apologize in advance</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Defeat!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>One More Game?</em>
</p><p>Gusion grumpily pressed <em>Start</em> and waited for the matchmaking process to take place. However, it seemed to be taking longer than usual. He minimized the game for a moment to check the signal—190 ms. He grimaced, but some stubborn part of him still wanted to play. He looked over to his side, where Claude was busy looking out his window, headphones clamped over his ears. His face had a transfixed expression as though he could fly out of his seat and into the surroundings around them.</p><p>_________________</p><p>
  <em>“I can’t believe you accepted his invitation to go hiking,” Guinevere laughed. “You hate anything involving traveling.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I know,” Gusion sighed, he stuffed some extra shirts into his backpack. “I don’t know what got into me, honestly.”</em>
</p><p><em>“Did he blackmail you or something? Be honest.”</em> </p><p>
  <em>“What? No! No blackmailing,” The Paxley tapped his fingers to his chin. “At least, not that I’m aware of. He just asked me two days ago after class… and I said yes. I think I was too preoccupied and he took advantage of it.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Or, you simply can’t say no to your roommate despite being constantly annoyed with his presence.” He can practically hear Guinevere’s snicker over the phone. His brows furrowed.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Of course I can say no to him! You just haven’t been hanging around with us a lot—“</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Hey Gus!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Gusion grumbled at the sound of his roommate using that horrible nickname. “…Yeah?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Claude’s head peeked out of their bathroom door. His hair was still damp from the shower, causing it to flop over his forehead in brown waves. Gusion had to grudgingly admit it looked kind of cute.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I was thinking, after we get to the mountain peak, we eat at this Japanese place afterwards? Hayabusa recommended it to me, the ramen’s supposed to be really good.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“That… That’s really great, Claude, but—“ Gusion remembered who he was talking to on the phone and gulped. “Um, I’m not really feeling noodles today,” He lied. “Can we go eat somewhere else?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“They serve teriyaki and sushi too.” Claude pouted, and if Gusion were more observant, he’d notice the anxious tremble of his roommate’s fingers on the door. “Please? It’s my treat, for once.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“For once would be right,” Gusion grumbled. “Fine—fine, just make sure I’m not paying for a single thing.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Cool!” Claude grinned, he closed the bathroom door once again, leaving Gusion to stare morosely at his phone.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“See what I mean? Good luck with your trip hahaha~”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Oh, shut up, Guin,” Gusion mumbled as he hung up the phone.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Stupid hike and stupid lunch at some stupid Japanese place. He could’ve spent the day playing games but no, he had to say yes to this annoying, dorky, endearing roommate of his—</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Ready?” Claude stepped out of the bathroom, fully clothed, even if his hair was still floppy.</em>
</p><p><em>Gusion sighed. He zipped up his backpack. At least his phone battery was full.</em> </p><p>
  <em>“Ready.”</em>
</p><p>_________________</p><p>“We’re here!” Claude stepped down from the bus, an irrepressible grin on his face. Gusion trailed after him, eyes still fixated on the game. He let his gaze move upwards and saw that they were on the beginnings of a trail on the edge of a forest. The forest itself wasn’t so threatening to look at, it looked more like a woods in a fairy tale. The sun peeked out in some parts but the winds and the canopy of the trees kept the atmosphere cool. Small wooden posts indicated directions to follow on the trail.</p><p>Gusion once again had to admit the place looked beautiful, even if they hadn’t started yet. He took a step further, and suddenly his phone vibrated. He cursed, he couldn’t afford to be inactive on the game for long.</p><p>“Aww, you’re still playing?” Claude looked back at him, a playful pout on his face. “We’re literally outside, Gusion. it wouldn’t hurt to put it down for awhile. Isn’t it nice out here?”</p><p>“Um…it is…” Gusion furiously tapped away on his phone. “Just let me finish this—then I’ll stop playing—hey!”</p><p>Claude had gripped one of his wrists, leaving Gusion to helpless readjust himself so he can continue playing.</p><p>“Claude! Let me go!”</p><p>His roommate only smirked at him, as he slowly led their way up the trail. “You want to slip on the way up? Fine, be my guest.” He let Gusion’s wrist go, and he walked farther away from Gusion, who was still fumbling in the game.</p><p>“That’s not what I meant—argh! Wait up!” He minimized the game for a short while, catching up with Claude.</p><p>_________________</p><p>
  <em>Victory!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>One More Game?</em>
</p><p>“Heads up,” Claude announced suddenly. “Or down, depending how you see it.”</p><p>“What—oh!” Gusion bumped into Claude’s back, causing him to trip a couple of steps backwards. He would’ve slipped to the ground if it weren’t for Claude, who reached over and grabbed the sleeve of his jacket. Gusion blushed and mumbled a soft “thank you” as he finally stood beside Claude.</p><p>“See? What’d I tell you? You’d eventually slip, if it weren’t for me…” There was that smirk again. Gusion held his tongue, he wanted to complain that if it weren’t for Claude blocking the way, he wouldn’t have stumbled at all. Instead he slipped the phone into his pocket, repositioning himself on the stones underneath him, that he realized just now were mossy and wet. If they were this wet, though, that must mean—</p><p>“Oh… wow…”</p><p>They were standing at the edge of a small stream. The water was crystal clear, bubbling in some places where it crashed against small rocks. In some places, the sun sparkled on the water’s surface, giving off blinding glimmers. The stream tinkled and flowed with a relaxing sound, making Gusion feel ten times better. He reached down to touch the water with his fingertips. It felt refreshingly cool.</p><p>“See those small stones over there?” Claude pointed to some rocks that protruded from the water’s surface, a few meters away from them. “Usually the water’s shallow enough, but I’d rather we keep safe. If we fall, and our packs get drenched…”</p><p>“Okay,” Gusion nodded reluctantly. He let Claude step onto the closest rock first, slightly surprise when Claude extended a hand to him before moving onto the next one. Shrugging, he took his roommate’s hand. It felt soft and inviting underneath his.</p><p>“I… never would have pegged you as a mountains person,” Gusion said, as they slowly crossed the stream.</p><p>“I’m not—watch out for this spot over here—I love going to the beach. In fact, I work as a lifeguard every summer,” Claude replied, not turning back. “But the view from the summit makes this trip worth it, promise.”</p><p>“I thought we were going to stop here,” Gusion admitted. He leapt onto the last stone before the riverbank, preparing for the next jump.</p><p>“It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Yeah, sometimes I just stop here, too. It’s nice to swim in, especially when it’s a bit deeper. It’s a bit shallow right now, though.” Claude looked at him from his spot on the rocky ground. Their hands were still connected. “Don’t worry. I’ll catch you.”</p><p>“What? Oh, no—I’m—I’m fine—!” Gusion jumped over to the solid ground, but as he did, his foot landed on a particularly mossy spot. He slipped forward—straight into Claude’s waiting arms.</p><p>“Caught you,” Claude smiled at him, his eyes glinting with mischief.</p><p>“Y-yeah, you did, happy now?” Gusion wanted to drown in the shallow stream, he felt extremely embarrassed. He immediately moved away from Claude, disguising his reddening face by looking down to check his phone. “Just lead the way, idiot.”</p><p>“Alright, alright, Gus. Jeez.” Claude snickered as they continued walking up the trail—his face directly trained to his front so that Gusion wouldn’t see the blush also forming on his cheeks.</p><p>They both didn’t realize they were still holding hands.</p><p>_________________</p><p>“How much farther?” Gusion complained. His knees and calves were complaining, every step he took felt as though it weighed a hundred pounds. “Are we there yet?”</p><p>“Yes, we’re getting close, I swear,” Claude looked back at Gusion, and it was clear that he was doing his best not to laugh. Claude was barely even breaking a sweat, his hair and face as immaculate as ever. The stray rays of sunlight through the trees illuminated his face, making him glow. He looked positively radiant, Gusion thought. It wasn’t fair.</p><p>He flapped the collar of his shirt with his free hand, trying to keep it from sticking to his chest due to the sweat. By this point, he was well aware that he had been holding hands with Claude—but he was too exhausted to even complain, he needed the pull from his roommate otherwise he’d collapse onto the stony ground. Besides, Claude didn’t seem to mind. Either that or he was too polite to say so.</p><p><em>Claude? Polite? </em>Gusion smiled slightly to himself. <em>Those two words did not belong together</em>.</p><p>He caught Claude looking at him again and he turned away, looking into the distance. He felt his heart speed up infinitesimally.</p><p>
  <em>That’s definitely due to all this walking! Nothing else!</em>
</p><p>Then his eyes focused on the horizon in front of them, which was becoming treeless, the sunlight becoming a lot brighter. His eyes widened.</p><p>Gusion sprinted up the trail, pulling Claude with him. The trail ended in a patch of fluffy green grass, the tree line finally behind them. What Gusion saw took his breath away.</p><p>“Whoa…” Gusion staggered backwards in awe, he unconsciously squeezed Claude’s hand as the other caught up with him, a knowing smile on his lips.</p><p>“Quite the view, right?”</p><p>They were standing on the peak of the mountain, which was quite flat and perfect for sitting or even lying down on, thanks to the grass. Beyond that, the slopes of the mountain were dotted with greenery from various bushes and trees—a combination of jade, emerald, olive, and every other shade of green. Further below that, a small ribbon of blue glittered furiously in the sunlight—Gusion guessed it connected to the stream they crossed earlier. From this high up, the air was impossibly clean and crisp, soothing and cool against their faces. Because of that, the sunlight didn’t bother them at all, the wind enveloping them in a gentle breeze. The sky above them was impossibly clear, the shade a perfect blue as feathery white clouds floated overhead. Gusion could almost imagine touching them, they were so up high…</p><p>“Look,” Claude pointed to the distance, and Gusion followed his line of sight. He realized they could see the city from this altitude, the buildings and skyscrapers creating a beautiful skyline. He never would have imagined seeing their place from such a breathtaking view. And beyond that, another ribbon of blue glimmered on the distance, against the sky. He supposed that was the sea, perfectly visible on such a bright, sunny day.</p><p>“I… I can’t…” Gusion fell onto the grass, his eyes not leaving the view in front of him. “Claude…this is <em>beautiful</em>, it’s <em>amazing!</em>”</p><p>“It is, isn’t it?” Claude grinned, sitting beside him as well. Gusion looked over and saw that there was no mischief at all indicated at his roommate’s face, his expression mirroring Gusion’s, that of awe and appreciation. But he wasn’t looking at the horizon, his warm, brown eyes gazing into Gusion’s. “I knew you’d like it.”</p><p>“Oh…um… thank you?” Gusion looked back at vista as Claude laughed. It didn’t sound as annoying as it did before.</p><p>_________________</p><p>“Why did you bring me here?” Gusion asked, a couple of hours later, as he and Claude finished the last of the sandwiches they brought to eat at their destination. Claude was sitting on the edge of the peak now; letting his feet dangle over the slope. He seemed perfectly relaxed; although Gusion was slightly worried he would fall over.</p><p>
  <em>Of course, he was only worried because of the mess it would make, bringing this idiot to the hospital and taking care of the paperwork, not because he was worried, of course not—</em>
</p><p>“Well, you look looked sort of stressed lately…” Claude shrugged, looking back over at Gusion. He gestured for the Paxley to come over, and Gusion sighed, walking over and carefully sitting beside Claude. <em>He really can’t say no this idiot…</em></p><p>“… so I figured you’d like some fresh air. A change of scenery. Hiking’s one way of relieving stress.”</p><p>“I thought you stole stuff to relieve stress.”</p><p>“Well, that too,” Claude smirked. “But I decided you’d enjoy a more… <em>legal </em>way of relieving stress.”</p><p>“True,” Gusion noted. “I don’t think my stress will be relieved as much as it will be multiplied when I end up behind bars.”</p><p>“For you!” Claude snickered, his fingers accidentally grazed Gusion’s as he leaned back, letting the sun wash over his features. Gusion looked away, guiltily, but he didn’t move his hand away. “They’d never catch me.”</p><p>“If you say so…” He stared at the city buildings, trying to decipher where their apartment was. “Claude… thank you… you didn’t have to bring me along…”</p><p>“It would be a shame if I didn’t have anyone to share this amazing view with.” His roommate smiled. “I figured I might as well share it with someone I could spend a lot of time with.”</p><p>“Me?” Gusion asked.</p><p>Claude took his hand, letting his thumb swipe over the skin before squeezing it softly. Every gesture seemed to send butterflies through Gusion.</p><p>“You.” Claude said firmly, and Gusion’s heart sped up once again.</p><p>This time, he didn’t have an excuse.</p><p>He squeezed Claude’s hand back, and was rewarded with Claude’s brilliant smile once again. He could daresay it was just an enthralling a view as the one in front of them.</p><p>Gusion could’ve stared at Claude for the rest of the day, but Claude stood up, stretching his legs and pulling Gusion up with him. “I think we should be going. I’m still looking forward to Japanese food.”</p><p>“Pffft, we just ate and you’re already hungry.” <em>Typical Claude. </em>But Gusion smiled anyways. “Let’s pack up our stuff then.”</p><p>They picked up any trash they might’ve thrown, putting it in a zip bag to properly dispose later. They prepared their bags and muscles for another long trek down the trail. Gusion took one last look at the view, finally turning to the trail just as Claude tugged on his sleeve again.</p><p>“Wait, don’t you want to take a picture of this or something?” He asked, confused. “I haven’t seen you bring out your phone. I think you’d like a remembrance of this place…”</p><p>Gusion laughed for the first time that day, enjoying the astonishment that grew on Claude’s face. It grew even wider as Gusion leaned over, gently kissing him on the cheek.</p><p>“If we’re going to start spending a lot of time here, together, then I don’t think I have to.”</p><p>He reached out to Claude, and his roommate obliged him, holding his hand tightly. They walked down the trail together, finally sharing the same pace and with barely any distance between them.</p><p>It didn’t feel like a departure. It felt like the start of something new.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>if i can't travel, THEN AT LEAST MY BOIS CAN</p><p>Stay safe, everyone! Wash your hands always and practice social distancing!</p><p>comments and kudos are well-appreciated as always :)</p><p>(also i'm lonely follow me on ig @cheol_apple)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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